If you have fatty liver disease, your liver contains fat that, over time, can damage your liver by interacting with its ability to function properly. Drinking may also cause liver fat to build up in certain people, but this is not the same as fatty liver disease.
Since NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) rarely exhibits symptoms, it usually needs medical treatment when testing for other conditions that indicate a liver problem. This may occur if you have an irregular liver enzyme test or if your liver appears differently on ultrasonography. If you or your loved one is suffering from fatty liver, contact the liver disease Anchorage clinic.
Treating the Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
The term “silent liver disease” can be used to describe fatty liver disease. The explanation for this is that it can happen without showing any symptoms. The vast majority of NAFLD patients do not experience liver damage while having fat in their livers. NASH (Non-Alcoholic SteatoHepatitis) is sometimes an adverse effect of liver fat.
NASH patients could experience symptoms that take years to appear. Cirrhosis is the medical term for a liver condition caused by NASH that causes persistent scarring and liver hardness.
The following are possible NASH symptoms:
- Severe fatigue
- Weakness
- Deduced weight
- The eyes or skin becoming yellow
- Spider lookalike blood veins on the skin.
- Persistent itching
Who is at risk?
The specific cause of fatty liver disease is unknown to medical experts. However, they believe that the most common cause is obesity. In the last ten years, obesity in the US has risen, and fatty liver disease has been on the rise, according to medical experts. Fatty liver disease may impact adolescents and young adults, although it affects often in middle life.
Risk factors consist of:
- Overweight
- Having high triglyceride or LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels in the blood
- Diabetic or prediabetic stae
- An elevated blood pressure
Diagnosis
It is possible for fatty liver disease to develop with no symptoms. Usually, it happens when your liver gets examined during normal blood testing. If you have abnormal test results and are obese, your physician might suspect fatty liver disease.
A needle is inserted to take a tissue sample from your liver during a liver biopsy. The needle removes a little bit of liver tissue to be viewed under a microscope. Here is how your doctor determines the diagnosis:
- NAFLD is the diagnosis if you have fat but no signs of inflammation or tissue damage.
- NASH is the diagnosis if you have obesity, inflammation, and liver problems.
- You may develop cirrhosis if you have fibrosis or scar tissue in your liver.
